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End of Life

What happens to patients once they reach the maximum benefit of traditional curative treatment? For many, hospice should be considered. A point on the healthcare continuum, hospice offers a comfort-focused approach to care when aggressive treatment would create more burden than benefit for the patient. The National Hospice and . . .

Editor’s note: National Homelessness Awareness Week is November 10-18.

Like many of our homeless patients, “Sarah” was a bundle of contradictions. She came from money, got a good education, and worked as a college administrator before her addiction took over and her life spiralled out of control. She . . .

Seeking to address major healthcare challenges, the National Priorities Partnership recognizes the many contributions nurses are making to advance its goals and transform health care. This article details the steps needed to optimize nursing’s contributions in specific areas.

B is a 12 year old boy who suffers from cardiomyopathy following an acute viral illness. His condition is stable, but without a heart transplant, doctors believe he will not survive more than six months. B and his parents have decided to forgo the transplant option. They understand that B . . .

Although time to death after withdrawal of mechanical ventilation varies widely, the majority of patients die within 24 hours according to an article in the August 2010 edition of Chest. Read more here . . .

“We think she’s gone,” he said.
It was 6:20 p.m. I was walking down the hall on the med-surg unit, and turned to face a middle-aged man with quivering lips, his expression silently begging me to find a way to bring her back.
I swallowed . . .

Updated guidelines on end-of-life care
To improve the quality of palliative end-of-life care, the American College of Physicians has revised its guidelines. According to the new recommendations, clinicians should regularly evaluate end-of-life patients for pain, dyspnea, and depression and ensure that patients complete advance . . .